Welcome to our one-off special episode of The Readout. Recent events have put aid, China and the Indo-Pacific squarely on the map for many Australians. So there was no better a time for The Lab to host Anka Lee, USAID’s acting Deputy Assistant Administrator and Senior Advisor for the PRC, at our Situation Room just last week. He was in Australia on behalf of USAID who are creating a policy on countering China’s growing influence. The Situation Room is a Chatham-house style discussion with 25...

Welcome to Part Five of our Democracy Series, with Blake Chrystal (USAID).   We’ve heard a lot about the different approaches of the US compared with Australia. So how does the US go about democracy promotion?   Series host Bridi Rice shares her conversations with Blake, including what’s on the agenda for USAID as they look to the future.   Want to learn more? Find our essay publication on this issue, here.   To learn more about The Readout and the work of the Development Intelligence Lab,...

Welcome to Part Four of our Democracy Series, with Dr Nicola Nixon and Peter Yates (The Asia Foundation).   What exactly does ‘democracy promotion’ mean in real terms? How do practitioners approach the work? And critically – what’s the challenge with adopting a US-style approach to the issue?   Series host Bridi Rice shares her conversations with Nicola and Peter, where she gets stuck into the gnarly issue of being loud about democracy in the region.   Want to learn more? Find our essay...

Welcome to Part Three of our Democracy Series, with Professor John Blaxland (Australian National University).   So we’ve heard why governance support is critical for prosperity in the region. But just how seriously should Australia take this? According to one of Australia’s top security experts – very.   Series host Bridi Rice shares her conversations with John, where she learns that governance challenges in the region is one of the top threats to our national security.   Want to learn more?...

Welcome to Part Two of our Democracy Series, with Serena Sasingian (The Voice).   To learn more about the state of democracy, and what the Summit will mean for the region, let’s start where we should – with a Pacific perspective.   Series host Bridi Rice shares what she’s learnt from her conversations with Serena – including how a particular speech at APEC in 2018 paints an interesting picture for the Summit.   Want to learn more? Find our essay publication, including an essay from Serena,...

Welcome to Part One of our Democracy Series, with Richard Maude (Asia Society) and Bryce Wakefield (Australian Institute for International Affairs).   President Biden has just held the first Summit for Democracy. What will it mean for the Indo-Pacific? Before we dive into the complexities for our region, let’s find out what happened at the Summit.   Series host Bridi Rice speaks to Bryce and Richard about Australia’s position as we went into the Summit, what happened, and the commitments...

We’re stoked to introduce the first series of the Readout: Democracy. Hosted by Lab CEO Bridi Rice, this short series takes you behind the scenes of our latest project, investigating what US President Biden’s Summit for Democracy will mean for the Indo-Pacific. Nationalism, populism, political polarisation and identity politics are challenging liberalism and institutions in democracies worldwide. More countries are abandoning democracy than embracing it. Overlay all of this with geostrategic...

The Readout is a podcast hosted by the Development Intelligence Lab. At the Lab, we’re tackling the big issues of development cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. We take one gnarly issue at a time, gather the best of the best from the region, Government, and academia, and dive deep to unpack the issue – and find the way forward. And our favourite part of these projects is the conversations we have along the way. So here on The Readout, we take you behind the scenes to let you in on the phone...